PASS THE MUSTARD: The Mavs’ Jason Kidd (right), an icon for those who love team basketball, forever has been “under-appreciated” by ESPN and its affinity for me-first hot dogs.Getty Images

One of these days, ESPN is going to do the smart thing and attach itself to a Secondary Audio Program (SAP) that taps into a laugh track.

Thursday night at halftime of Game 2 of the Mavericks-Heat finals on ABC/ESPN, anchor Stuart Scott prefaced a feature about the Mavericks’ Jason Kidd with, “Jason Kidd, one of the most under-appreciated guards in NBA history.”

And though Scott got it right, it was still laughable. After all, more than any other media entity in the nation — perhaps more than all of the others, combined — ESPN is responsible for Jason Kidd being “one of the most under-appreciated guards in NBA history.”

ESPN, with its sophomoric, high-fiving over-emphasis on slam dunks and 3-point bombs, has been conditioned to ignore basketball’s other special talents, especially those that demonstrate and reward exceptional team play. To ESPN, unless you rock rims and “bury treys from deep downtown!,” you’re worthless.

A brainy, broad-visioned point guard such as Kidd, in ESPN’s mind and hands, never had a chance to be fully appreciated by those who allow ESPN to tell them what’s worthy of their attention.

After the first two games of the finals, Kidd had a team-high 11 assists. I can’t recall any ESPN show feature even one of them.

Same thing with modest NFL players. It just doesn’t matter how good they are or might be, ESPN either doesn’t notice or isn’t interested. It wants the players who brag on themselves, give themselves funky nicknames and say crazy, selfish things.

Over the last dozen years, the Colts’ Marvin Harrison was a better, far more reliable and sure-handed wide receiver than Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson/Ochocinco. But ESPN, all week, week after week, kept the focus on the showboats.

Friday morning, the day after ESPN’s Scott correctly identified Kidd to a national TV audience as one the most under-appreciated guards in NBA history, ESPN’s “SportsCenter” presented a video tease that pointed to upcoming highlights from Game 2. Seven action video clips from that game were chosen for that tease. All seven were of slam dunks.

Yeah, Jason Kidd, under-appreciated.

Sinatra in comeback at Belmont

THIS Saturday’s Belmont Stakes on NBC will be prefaced by the return of Frank Sinatra’s version of “New York, New York.” Last year it was replaced by Jay-Z’s R-rated boastful ode to himself, “Empire State of Mind.”

* The Knicks were 42-40, this season, sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference, 20 games behind first-place Chicago. Yet, ESPNews anchor Michelle Bonner reported Friday that this season under Donnie Walsh “the Knicks turned into a contender in the East.” How does a national all-sports network get such things wrong?

* Quiz Time: During the

1978-79 NHL season ex-Rangers goalie Ed Giacomin, despite being a man of few words, was a radio color analyst. For which team? Answer below.

* Today at 3 p.m., YES’s Yankees-Angels pregame includes a strong feature in which YES’s Kim Jones accompanied Yankee reliever David Robertson to his native Alabama to inspect and act on the destruction from the tornado that last month ripped through the state.

* I’m not sure how much ESPN pays Magic Johnson to say that teams “have to execute on offense and play good defense,” but I’m guessing that such info doesn’t come cheap.

* Quiz answer: During the ’78-79 season, Giacomin worked Islander radiocasts over WMCA (570-AM) with Tim Ryan and Steve Albert.

* What Giants’ GM Brian Sabean said about the Marlins’ Scott Cousins on San Francisco’s KNBR radio Thursday is more actionable than what Cousins did to Buster Posey at home plate. In trash-talking and threatening Cousins, Sabean childishly enflamed an unfortunate incident. By 5 p.m. Friday, MLB should have publicly warned and reprimanded Sabean. But Bud Selig has indulged worse.

Name the announcers, win a prize

EVER tune to a YES Yankees telecast after it has begun and have to spend a few minutes trying to figure out exactly who’s doing the talking and to whom?

Is that Paul O’Neill with David Cone or is it Cone with John Flaherty? Is Al Leiter by himself or is Tino Martinez with him? Oh, Flaherty’s with Leiter. Is Ken Singleton working this one with Michael Kay or is Kay working this one without Singleton? Who’s that? Bob Lorenz.

Now out to left field, where Kim Jones is standing by . . .

* Excuse My French: So here’s ESPN2, during live French Open play, removing its “Bottom Line” crawl, thus improving the view. Meanwhile, the Tennis Channel, of all networks, adds a crawl under live French Open play. Sacre bleu!

But now we know what we always knew — there never was a good reason for ESPN to sustain its repetitive, scene-shrinking, distracting crawl during game telecasts, especially big events.

* University of South Carolina starting QB Stephen Garcia, who once was arrested for keying a car, has been reinstated after his fifth suspension for misconduct. “There, that’ll teach ya!’